my experience of doing sudarshan kriya of Sri Sri Ravishankar/Art of Living Organisation

I had done sudarshan kriya many times and i had experienced the harmful effects of it since last 4 years. I have been doing it since last 4 years in gaps as after experiencing its harmful effect, leaving it and somehow again after some time doing it either by getting attracted to improve health from it or getting influenced by art of living people constantly influencing you, and again and again i have been experiencing the same dull effects, but not anymore. I have decided to fully dissociate myself from art of living. I think my experience needs to be shared with people to find some out there who is experiencing the same. I would list some of the effects that i have felt after some of the Sudarshan Kriya.

1. don’t feel like doing anything, dont want to work, earn, talk etc

2. unable to think, take decision, unable to concentrate, inattentiveness. cant put your mind on work. unable to focus and be determined. ( i was so focused on working on my website, but after doing long kriya i just don’t feel and care less about it or infact i care less about anything. I can feel the damage in the brain. i dont feel the awareness to feel, focus and do it; something in mind that makes us want to do things is just not felt and i know because it was there before and how because of it i was able to work on a stretch and be motivated to work)

3. don’t feel to respond to others, being unresponsive. feeling dejected; dont care about the things happening around, make you emotionless.

4. dont feel good in mind. Feels like something is missing in the brain.

5. dont feel aware, Lack of awareness to feel and act. Due to lack of awareness, sometimes negative thoughts come.

9. physical symptoms include tingling in the feet and weakness(lack of energy), lethargy in the body and related body problems.

I researched a bit about how such an breathing could harm one and found out that breathing fast and deep could be causing hyperventilation which might lead to respiratory alkalosis and hypocapnia. hyperventilation could cause the carbon dioxide concentration of the blood to decrease and hence increasing the ph of the blood which causes the Vasoconstriction and decreases the blood flow to the brain depriving the brain of the oxygen and other molecules necessary for its function. From what i have been feeling, it is called confusion in terms of medical symptoms. confusion, dizziness and lightheadedness are all the symptoms of the hyperventilation/respiratory alkalosis which happens due to less blood flow to the brain. I had also frequently felt tingling in the feet which is one of the symptoms of hyperventilation/respiratory alkalosis. other symptoms include dizziness, Giddiness, light headedness, headache, agitation, and tingling or numbing around the mouth and in the fingers and hands or feet. Muscle twitching, spasms, and weakness may be noted. Seizures, irregular heart beats, and tetany may occur; some more symptoms can be found here.

167 Comments

I have experienced No. 1, 2 & 7 from your list.
Its sad that most of the people consider these effects as ‘divine experience’ or ‘samadhi’.
No neutral research is conducted on this Kriya. Only AOL supported doctors gave biased report.
Jago India Jago.

Im a doctor. I know many doctors across India who are going there MD and have done thesis on Sudarshan Kriya as part of their curriculum. I also know of many doctors who have conducted research on Sudarshan Kriya independent of interference from anybody. These researches have shown positive results.

The problem lies with the teacher who is teaching the technic. I first gone through the course in Kolkata in 2000. The teacher who taught me (name is not being mentioned to avoid complications) told to breath with force for SKY which resulted immediate shoot up of my BP. Then I stopped it then and there. But after 13 years when I got transferred to Delhi in 2013 and out of my curiosity I went to the AOL class here, surprisingly the technic they told is very slow and repeatedly told me not to force the breathing in any technic other than Bhastrika. This produced the result.
What I feel AOL should distribute Video of the right technic rather than leave to their teacher some of who doesn’t know at all about the correct technic which is not only endangering the life of some person but also spreading bad news about the AOL.

180 degree opposite experience. After sudarhsan kriya i am more active, alert and positive then before. Not only it enhances my body’s energy levels and mental peace, my approach to work or life is totally changed. Few of the things that I used to do

all these are changed now. I don’t feel like procrastinating my work or ignoring it. Nothing changed at the work environment so what happened all of sudden? why that sudden change in me to take things more positively ? I am sure it is because of my meditation through Sudarshan Kriya.

However, I do agree that Sudarshank Kriya is harmful and let me explain you why. It enhances whatever is that you have in your body. If you have negative approach towards life, I assure you it will enhance that. Hence always keep positive attitude and do as much as you can without stretching your self. You will see positive benefits.

Parth Choksi,
Thank you for this blog. You are doing a very right thing by this blog..

Even I am feeling awkwardly uneasy in my brain and body after doing the AOL sudarshan kriya last evening. I mean it is very difficult to explain how I am feeling from inside but one thing is very clear to me that whatever my body and mind is experiencing is NOT GOOD at all by any angle. This is what I am experiencing:

I will NOT recommend it to anyone in this world and NOT even to my ENEMIES.

One thing that surprises me is that HOW CAN ONE LET SOMEONE TO PLAY WITH THEIR INNER SOUL, MIND AND BODY TO BE ABUSED BY THESE ART OF LIVING PEOPLE.

My sincere request to all is that your body, mind and soul are too sacred and fragile to be given in hands of people who are obsessed by their own so called techniques. How can these AOL people even dare to introduce SUDARSHAN KRIYA to people who are freshers and new comers.?

Hii Parth
I did this AOL course in jan first week(2015). Beginning i felt good. It was indeed a good experience and i used to do SK every day it was a strong commitment from my side not to miss it for a single day. But after a few days i started getting too much sleep. Even if i sleep happily for 10 hrs also i used to get too much sleep after bf lunch in the evening and even headache and dizziness. When i asked my teacher he turned out to be a good doctor. He said removal of toxins, Divine is acting in your body :D. I never believed his words. I had been to doctor took medicines and took better care of myself. And in a few days i recovered. Problem with me was that i used to think of SK often as like whether because of doing SK i faced such problems or was that because of some other reasons. You may not believe parth i again attended follow up classes continuosly for 2 weekend(sat), I landed myself again in the same trouble. Now i am 100% sure all these what i faced for 2 months was because of SK. Now even if God tell me that it is good, i will never believe. And also i would like to share one more thing Parth, i also have the experience of doing traditional pranayam yoga. I attended Sidda Samadhi Yoga of Rishi Prabhakar Guruji. They taught us mudra pranayam , Kapalbhati, suka pranayam. Even in SSY they taught us SOHAM meditation. There our teacher also said Soham is a very ancient technique given by Maharishi vishwamitra.Its not something which is discovered my this billionaire shri shri, but unfortunately it is modified, and it is branded by giving a different name and shri shri claims that he has invented it. Traditional pranayam is totally different from this SK. SK is niether Yoga nor it is pranayam. Its a way to attract people. I quarreled with my teacher i told him all my problems and you may not believe parth what he said is: I ve signed the appln form in which its clearly stated ” If anything happens we are not responsible”. Why is this soo. Clearly Aol teachers are not confident with kriya whether it will bring same positive results for all.

Hi Parth Choksi,
You are 100% correct Sudarshan Kriya of AOL is having lot of harmful side effects.
I practiced it for some time.
I noticed the harmful side effects of Sudarshan Kriya on my body and mind.
I left that.
Thanks for your posting.

Yes you are correct body is accustomed to such things. Ths part is called cleaning process . Do you feel good while taking a medicine ? NO . Similarly with regular practise it has tremendous effects. If you dont feel so good try with light meditation (download satva app) then will see

Now please, without any sort of bias, think for yourself whether or not there are possibilities of Kundalini Syndrome affecting certain lot of people who practice Sudarshan Kriya especially given the fact that Kundalini is awakened by Sudarshan Kriya ?

The reported side effects by many are not necessarily imaginary or meant to criticise Art of Living. It is a real condition that many are currently experiencing but they dont understand what it is as no one provides information to help them know and heal themselves.

Why AOL people are not looking into some of the points raised about sudarshan kriya. Even if one person in the whole world is experiencing negative effects, isn’t it the responsibility of AOL to look into the matter rather than brushing it aside?

Also why don’t you guys give logical explanations to prove that SD is not hyperventilation.

Well said!!! It is sad that people forget what HH Sri Sri has said and get so (for the lack of better word) aggressive.. I dont volunteer anymore nor do i do the Kriya but that doesnt mean I trash it or those who dont like it!!!!
Its sad..it really is….

Life of one moron is also important man. You cannot ignore of the symptoms which one feels. If you are selling some thing then you will revert to your product if reviews are not up to the mark. And here it is affecting brain. Can you understand how does it feel.? Never unless you feel it. No hard feelings on SK, for few it will help and later starts giving adverse affects. You so called followers find y it happens so to few, before it will affect the people who are getting benefit now.

HAVE you INQUIRED if same things are happening with the people around you…i mean other Aol followers around you?
i have been knowing people who are doing sudarshan kriya since 15 years without any of above mentioned symptoms…
being in medical profession myself… i have done more than necessary inquiries before hand….
and somehow i am not convinced about your opinion…..
anyways …. i honestly believe you should and you MUST be taking some medical help!
i truly wish you get out of your condition soon… and if you really don’t believe doing kriya… you should NOT DO it….!!
FOR the way to godliness is “no way”!

I have no medical condition and i have seen many people having the symptoms like headache, tingling at the extremities, light headedness, muscle twitches, dizziness, and the art of living teachers misguide them saying it is release of negative toxins or energy flow while they are the clear symptoms of hyperventilations. it is the fact that the deep and fast volunteer breathing leads to release of carbon dioxide at the rate larger than it is produced in the body which leads to the condition of alkalosis leading to vasoconstriction and the symptoms.

As per your analysis, all athletes in the world should suffer from hyperventilation, respiratory alkalosis and hypocapnia as fast breathing is part of their life.
And btw i am not a marketing agent, just another software engineer in Bangalore who has a very stressful job and who has found much relief through the above technique.

Yup, you are right. Practicing any form of ‘Pranayaama’, the process you explained as deep and fast inhalations and exhalations, without the help and guidance of someone who knows the process inside-out can and will cause problems. Even psychological problems. So be careful with Pranayama, folks. I had my doubts about this whole thing. Anyways, if some people feel better with AOL I am happy for them.

this is as good as ancient yoga and medidation .. One can not belive that your side effects are becuase of the Kriya.. The cause could have been something else. Let me know one practice where all people are happy. Gassips and cribs always there.

Actually, time and again, one should expose one’s body to negative stimuli (hyper ventilation in this case) in a controlled manner with allowing ample time to recover. That is a good thing. Most importantly the teacher should be confident and advise the students to stop when it is time. For me, I experienced hyperventilation as well. But no one else in the class did. I later discovered that I stressed too much on breathing which led to the problem. It is about control. Bad teachers can ruin the experience.

okay…. fair enough!
its good that you find out its bad for you…
and others …..
and please don’t mind me calling “condition'” ….
……….
and thank you for sharing such a honest experience with us…. i mean showing us all the other side of coin!!
……….
God bless you and i wish you a long and healthy life ahead!
thank you !

There are many many negative experiences with SK that are never published. AOL will only publish their marketing material on their website and publications, yet these negative effects have found their way through mainstream media and people are slowly becoming more aware.

I suffered from dizziness and vertigo after starting SK practice. Dr Manikantan and I chatted a bit at Visalakshi Mantap many years ago, I wanted some answers, got nothing. We went to the “vaid” who is the presiding ayurvedic doctor, he proposed some changes and some herbs but nothing helped. If I stopped SK the problems went away, so I finally decided to abandon SK completely.

I cannot have faith in a system if even their senior teachers and doctors can’t diagnose a simple condition and help me out. AOL is a business run by a charismatic leader. Treat it this way, and you will come out all right. Don’t fall for this liberation and enlightened master claptrap.

I don’t believe people “fall” for it. The supporters of AOL & its techniques must have felt something good about it. I wish it didn’t cause you problems of dizziness & vertigo. The technique may not have suited you and of course you must stop with it.

Well said!!! To each, his own!!! We cant impose our thoughts or experiences on others…and for those who are doing so (pretty evident from this chat), are only making AOL look super bad… (‘say something against AOL and we wont think twice before calling you names!’)

The automatic moments which you had while doing those pracices are result of mild kundalini awakening. The problem with AOL is the teachers dont know anything about it and they are of no help I am so sorry you had to go through all that. You have to immediately stop doing any yoga and pranayama or meditation practices which involves mantra. What I would suggest is you just sit with yourself in silence.

Even when I went for AOL my BP shot up so High and I had high palpitation but when I stepped on EcG it was fine then I stopped dointg that then I am fine. I just do simple pranayama and meditation. This sudrashan kriya is dangerous thing as there is no meditation being done after that and all the teachers have to say is just blindly have faith in the Guru which they might have the belief on their Guru but not others. And when they came to know iam also yoga and meditation teacher these teachers who were so freindly with me suddenly became hostile and was talking ill about what I was teaching. Anyways I just left them to whatever they are as they are held by this cult where they are all under DENIAL. But these are poor souls who are seeking but what mostly people do is they endup praying to the Guru and doing gurupooja and in the end they endup removing all the God’s. godess photo and they jsut keep the Guru’s foto and pray.

This is not only happening in in AOL but in sahaj meditation group where they slowly will ask you to pray their guru(mother as then call her)and iam sure many many fall for this Gulliable people. Do always remember THE GURU IS IN YOU and you just do ordinary yoga/pranayama and meditation if you are more inclained than said by those Gurus who claim it was revealed to them.Just follow what saint patanjali has taught. Listen to your heart Please.

how to get over with these side effects? just by leaving it doesn’t solves the problems it created. i feel demotivated, depressesd, rejected, and emotionless if i try leaving sk. the previous natural emotions and motivations have seem to be lost somewhere and i cant get them back. pls help

I would suggest ‘Be more aware’. The problem now seems to be the lessons you learnt. Well, I’ve not been to any meditation technique class or anything, but me too felt all these things – Dullness, dizziness and all. But once you are aware of your life, an urge to throw these things comes up. Try smiling when you get up from bed. Don’t have to look in a mirror. Just sit there and smile with your whole heart.

Since you wanted to know how to become normal again …Here is the solution which worked for me.

Sudarshan Kriya generates immense amount of energy in the body. If your body is not well acclimatised to harness it, you may experience certain side effects which are temporary. This includes what you have described.

Secondly, Do physical excercises like jogging and push ups. Follow this with 3 stage pranayam.

After completing 3 stage pranayam, you can take to chanting a mantra of your favorite form of God. If you are sikh, then you can chant “Waaheguru” slow to medium pace for a minimum of 16 times to a maximum of 27.

Please chant attentively.

Last but not the least, mix rock salt in a bucket of water and take bath. This will give a lot of relief.

Thank you for posting your experience! I used to be regular with my SK for about a year during 2009 and during that year I could feel myself experience all of those points you have listed above. I thought I was just being silly since all the research on the net on SK was positive. I felt a loss of memory and a general feeling of disinterestedness. As soon as i would stop, I would regain my emotions. I did the course again this year and then completely stopped. Recently, I had decided to stop it completely and dissociate myself from the AOL as I have neglected my studies and generally went off track in life. For a while after stopping it, I felt a lot irritation and agitation and restlessness but I feel like I’m finally becoming my old self again.

Has any one got the solution to the problems caused BY SKY ? .I practiced this kriya only during the scheduled course .And since then whole head area is numb .its almost a week and i have still not been able to recuperate from the situation.

My ability to think critically has gone down / it is giving me difficulty in managing my task at office smartly.Feeling so low and dejected. Would realy require some kind of assurance on the part that i will recover from this numbness that i m feeling……..please reply what has to be done.

Incase you still are feeling some bad effects and wish to become alright, please follow below instructions.

Sudarshan Kriya generates immense amount of energy in the body. If your body or mind has not been properly acclimatised, it can cause certain undesirable effects, since some biological changes happen within.
These effects are temporary.

However not all are capable of withstanding it. If you feel disturbed or harmed please follow the below regime.

1) Stop practicing Sudarshan Kriya.

2) Do cardio excercises as rightly told by Parth. Especially pushups and jogging.

3) Do three stage pranayama and relax.

Follow step 3 with chanting of the holy names of your favorite form of God.

For me the Hare Krishna mahamantra worked wonders and in a matter of few days i recovered my normal thinking.

Hi,
I’d like to share my experience of doing S-Kriya. When I first started doing S-Kriya (Sudarshan Kriya), I used to feel especially tired, esp after the weekly session. I would collapse as soon as it got done. Often I experienced strange non-explainable sensation of fear of dying, or just highly tired. In fact the only way I could do it was to do the evening one, so I could rest and sleep the night – was very tired. Then I got the intuitive thought that this Kriya should be done in a “lazy manner” so to speak – that is gently and almost as if you don’t care (SSRS used the phrase “like handling a flower”); so there I sat, and started at times to just go through the motions. I followed that course of action for about 3 months. And it was after that time (about 9 ~ 12 months since I started) that I began to experience what others were ooh-and-aaah’ing about – the freshenss feeling and also experience my thoughts (mind chatter) slow to a whisper. Overall took me a year to feel fresh and refreshed after S-Kriya, and a lot of trial and error effort – which in my case was mostly reducing the effort I put in my breath cycles.
Bottom line is that even with my irregular practise, I’ve now been able to accomplish a few things with limited sleep (I have 2 small kids now) – managing a brown belt in martial arts, an MBA and holding and making progress in my technology job, when I often find 6 hours of sleep is plenty with a daily dose of S-kriya.
The reason I share this, is that I can relate to the “fatigue” and more extreme sensations some of you have reported and wonder if perhaps you should experiment with checking what you are doing that is pushing your body farther than its limit at this time. I hope this experience of mine can help you along …

I’ll look to your comments, to see if anyone here can try for a period of time (about a month or 4 weekly sessions) with experimenting on the lines that I tried, and report back on your experience.

Jai Gurudev!
This is a very appropriate reply.
The breathing must be done gently and not huffing & puffing manner as most of us do initially.
I feel calm, relaxed and sleepy after Kriya & prefer doing it at night while others may feel energetic, refreshed and alert and prefer to do it in the morning.
It is important to see how it helps you and use it as a medicine accordingly.
If you face any health problems – physical or mental by the performance of Kriya, go to the teacher and ask them to check your method of doing it during the long kriya follow-ups, they will guide you.
If it still does not work; you can even stop doing it why not? It is but one of the many ways to get enlightened, it may not be your way. Try something else. Do not follow the bandwagon.

I agree with you. I started of with “mini” versions of SKY too, and now, I feel well adjusted to the full version of it. I was able to pull myself out of a mild form of depression. I’m much more active now, in better control of my thoughts, rid of fear due to irrational reasons, eating like a pig (I’d eat like a bird or an ant initially) and my overall approach to life has improved. If not a positive state of mind, I’m definitely in a neutral and NOT a negative state of mind.

Have done the beginners course in AOL .I had the strangest emotional upheavals which are not in keeping with my normal character in those few days . On the last day , after the rapid breathing session my muscles went into severe spasms like a mild paralytic twist . Took a while to get out of the trance and for the pain to subside . I think its something of a kundalini crisis that was triggered . After 11 years I still get tendon inflammations and joint pains which coincidentally started at that time …

Dear skanda,
It is just that you are too scared . Even i felt the same and i had really bad joint pain and back pain .. My SKY experience was so powerful that i thought i’d die and to be true i still have the body ache.. But with every sudarshan kriya it is loosing its grip.
I did not want you to be in the pain and so i thought of replying to your post. I hope it does help.
thank you and god bless you 🙂

I have been continously suffering from the “absent-mindedness” and to be true the 22 years of my life i had been in same condition.
Feeling insecure,Miserable,Low self esteem and No affinity towards life.I lost my job the one i deraly loved,Got into depression and even thought of ending up life.
But then i thought of giving this thing a try before taking a final decision but to my amazement i feel life is worth living! I feel so free from the mental disturbance, also very much confident and friendly.
I have had the powerful experience of SKY… i feel the pain in joints you are talking about. But it has also brought relief and with every sudarshan kriya i see that the pain is reducing ,much like fading away and my sleep hours have reduced ( i was a very lazy girl).
So i request all of you to do the kriya for some more time regularly and then take a final decision.
I am a “live” example of SKY Effects and trust me if you are missing it ,You are missing something really precious.
and for heaven-sake … dont borrow other’s opinions.. Not even mine! please use your own experience and brains .
Thank you 🙂

One of the teachings of AOL are to accept others and situations as they are. Maybe since you seem to eb such a staunch follower of Aol and Sudarshan oriya, you can also try working on this and not ridicule the writer of this blog. I dont know him but the least I can do is respect his views and accept them as his own. No one forced you to join AOL and no one is forcing you to leave it. So, follow all that AOL teaches, not just things that are convenient to you.
Accept others and situations as they are. Learn not to put others down.
JGD!!

I think every experience is unique, I’ve been doing sk. for 370 days in a row, and I feel better and better. so my recomendation: give it a try, and if it works for you keep doing it, and if it dosen’t just stop. jai gurudev

Hi, It’s just 4 days that my aol course got over and I am doin SK on a regular basis (please don’t laugh 4 days are long enough 4 me)…. I just wanted to ask all you guys my post kriya exprince at asharam was very good and I felt high energy within my self but at home aftr doin kriya I feel tired …. 1 thing that I would like to add here is that I do long SK as I hav somehow managed to get that rhythmic kriya song…. and I do SK at 4 am

Hi,
I have been practicising the SK, Padmasadhana and meditation for a while now and I feel, i have immensely benefitted from it. I have become so much more efffective and am able to handle so many more things in life. I also do not feel disturbed by little things as earlier. My life has inproved a lot. Not onlt this, whatever I ask for in live somewhow instantly menifests for me. I am sooooooo happy these days.

I recently got Aura photography done and in photograph we found a strong yellow aura around which the photographer said was an indication of presence of Master’s energy around me!

Last year on two instances, my house had cauth fire and both times, i was able to sense it well in time to save us.

All these instances tell us how AOL has helped me tremendously.

Please do not leave it. Sometimes we don’t practice it corrrectly like taking heavy breaths or understanding the ujjai breath. Once the technique is right the practice can only do good!

Yes, Parth you r right. S kriyra produces lots of unpleasent feeling.Mostly it is due to forceful breathing.But when u breathe with observation & without any judgement, there is lot of pleasent feeling.You can observe your body parts,minute parts and just observe.Each part of my body,(cell) is contributing to “me” and feeling of “I” get dissolved.Problem is we are getting carried by sentiments of some personality or organization & that leads to ulitmate failure or pain or suffering.

This thing is the witness of negative energies accumulated in your body aura and logged in the depth of your subconscious mind. Try a book by Dr. Joseph Murphy ‘The power of your subconscious mind” and the movie “The Secret” and you will know how this all world works. Even if you do not do all these exercize then also can live life abundantly and attract riches.

The law of attraction is evident and even before any religion existed on this earth. Why to find a shortcut or giving a chance for miracles to take place in life? Why to dwell on any guru or yoga or anyone on this earth as well as any mantra, tantra etc when you have the inner power within you to remove the fear, depression, etc…do people in rest 195 countries dwell on mantras, yoga etc? Face the difficulties of life and that is life fight against it there is no religion on this earth to protect no guru on this earth to save you if you have attracted negative circumstances…Law of attraction will change future from you within..

Parth.. you did a wrong job by criticizing this concept of sudarshan kriya.. no one has the right to do it coz it may hurt many people who practice it but the only message you can convey is why dwell on all this miracles tools of great INDIA

And you suppose ridiculing someone and putting them down like this is good??????
Those were his views and opinions and he is simply putting them out there. If you are soooooo ‘at bliss’ and benefitting from Sudarshan Kriya, how is it that it still bothers you????
One of the teachings of AOL is to accept others and situations as they are. Do you think you are doing that here??? Or do you only follow those AOL teachings that are convenient to you???
Seriously guys!!!! If this guy is ‘poisoning the minds of others against AOL’, what are you doing??? Making it seem like ‘if someone says a word against AOL, I will humiliate them’!!! Is that what Guruji has taught us??????

Shame on YOU GUYS!!!!! Revise your course first, reflect on how you should behave and then comment…trust me, right now, you are making AOL seem really bad!

Mine experiences were also like yours. i did SK for more than 2 years and had same above mentioned experience. i was told that my negativity is releasing, satva is increasing, guru is coming in your life…and many more. i thought, may be all these points are correct but even after three years of regular practices- followed by 3 advance course and 2 DSN, and a lot of time wasting SEWA (Sewa in AOl is bringing more poeple in) i was having the same experience. i regularly went for follow up for more then 10 months but found no change. i become very numb, dry. i still feel that dryness in me, still i find it difficult to focus on anything. Actually the reality is in AOl no one has ever experienced any thing, they all live by others experiences and try replicating it by behaving in the same pattern.
they create a surrounding and don’t let others think beyond that … people in AOL rarely believe in self improvement ..

Dear All,
I have been doing Short SK for last 7 years continuously. Why Short SK? Coz I hate the AOL folks and their “fakeness”, but that does not take away the benefits of SK. I do SK for 20 mins , then recite Gayatri Mantra and sit quietly for 10 mins immediately after a bath in the morning. Has done wonders for my mental health. One side affect. Even if i stop for a day, I start getting agitating for smallest things! Otherwise my memory has improved, I am motivated, aggressive at work and happy. I have moved from a Software Engineer to an Associate Director! No credit to AOL but all credit to SK. So there you go, this is an unabiased feedback.

How fast did they make you breath? Actually pranayama never leads to hyperventilation. Same duration parts of inhale, exhale and holding (usually after exhale) are only at the beginning of training, then you increase exhale and hold after exhale. I didn’t try this Sudarshan kriya and if they start from holding after inhale it is not right. But if you also hold after exhale-must be all right. You’re Indian origin -why you get caught by some experimenators – do your classical great heritage!!! I am Russian, by the way.

Hi, You are Russian doesn’t prove anything. Weird people exist all over the world :D. There is nothing wrong in being critical about something which you feel might be dangerous at times even if it belongs to your own country/cultural heritage.

It is really sad that you are ready to jump in defence of the kriya you learnt at AOL but are not ready to follow the teachings of AOL.
Guruji has NEVER encouraged ridiculing, humiliating, calling names of anyone!!! In fact, he says ‘accept others and situations as they are’. Remember??????
This is his view. Instead of simply accepting it (and there are other people who have simply done that while putting their point forward as well), you have lowered yourself to calling him names and ridiculing him.
It is sad that because of such instances, it is AOL and Guruji who are made to look bad.
Really sad.
JGD!

2 weeks ago, I also took the part-I course and also made my parents do it. My parents have allergy issues that causes respiratory problems. So, I thought SK should help them. But after one week of practicing it. I suddenly had terrible headache. 3 days after headache started I went to doctor and found out that my blood pressure was 150/100. I’m 30 years old but quite healthy. I do a lot of sports, don’t take much stress, eat at home, avoid fried foods, etc. Doubting it was caused by kriya, I stopped doing it and my BP came back to normal. Then I found out my parents also had severe headache for days. I could see my parents were not doing the kriya as exactly told in the course but I think I was doing it quite well. My parents are 60 years old so it/s hard for them to do this kind of exercise. I’ve never ever experienced such serious headache in my life. I used to do lot of sheesh asana and other yoga. I think it definitely has some issues. Please reply if any one else had similar problems.

@parth: Sorry bro….Things don’t work well for you doesn’t mean they won’t work well for millions 🙂
@sid: Read Bhagwad Gita….you will find out why after coming so far you find yourself off the track!

To all:
Guys, I am an engineering student( and no way a marketing agent) and the reason why I love Guruji, is not because I have heard a lot about him and he brought these life changing courses within our reach. But because he is a great person. Just one video conference with him on Skype made me realize that if I want to be like someone in life, IT’S HIM.
The way he speaks, the way he works, flushes me with inspiration

And this message is for all those lovely critics who help guruji by filtering out the trash:
If you had the nerve to explain the working behind sudarshan kriya(i.e. hyperventilation as you call it),
Just put in you heads to interpret how “Sehaj Samadhi” works!!!!
Jai Gurudev

We can understand what motives can be behind publishing this article on this website & collecting so many supporters as STRANGERS who r ur frnz behind the back……….but believe me my friend…..its your only objective to rumourize someone’s name ………..you don’t like it it’s your choice but saying it has so many harmful effects …….I guess either you are definitely trying something very differrent apart from given instructions OR its good brain wash system which has made you do this………god bless your heart mate …..

I think you really need to understand one thing!
Alcohol, drugs, violence those are bad for you 🙁 meditation, yoga and knowledge is god for you 🙂
if you dont want to do it in the art of living there are 1.000 of places where yo can! SK is breathing in different rythims not a posiibility that taht can cause SOOOOO MUUUUUUUUUCH HARMMM! JAJAJAJ! Perhaps you dont like the kind of path that has a GURU, like a guide and thats all, thats not for all the people actually its very uncorfortable even for me, sometimes i wanna say “ho are you JESUS” jajajaj and is ok! there are different paths for different kind of people
Just remember life is not easy, actually its very hard sometimes, and there are no magical solutions, but living and learning while you walk, dont close your windows, keep walking and i know somewhere you will find that place where you are gonna be confortable y happy! :*

i have had experienced stuff much more serious than u have…. doing sk since i was 18..now im 24.. firstly, since i started practising SK, 4 1st 3 years i’d almost blissful nd energetic nd lively nd glamorous xperiences..my looks improved, i was mentally peaceful, i became more extrovert than earlier etc etc…sfter those 3 yrs suddenly i’d a tingling sensation in the base of the spine nd all hell broke loose…since then i had innumerable symptoms 2 my issues with health… i feel weakness in the muscles, cant eat spicy food, premature agin, lost my vibrance, kinda depressd…. but now im kinda managing all this doing SK nd having an ayurvedic medicine called triphala.. so far, its goin fine…ive also consultd many doctors nd medicines but no respite… i will nd definetly get back 2 who i am 1 day… no1 can stop me from acheiving wat i want, these health issues have made me a more matured nd stronger person… thse problems tat u have described in ur blog r just genuine but shouldnt stop u from living a life tat u want… dont let others, aol teachers, or a guru stand in ur path..but yes keep a little faith in ur master even if hes a cheater cos its urfaith not his…gnit, ive my mba classes tomrw

look..do some research on da internet about ‘kundalini”..n trust me ders a lot of material available…dat tingling sensation in da base of da spine u talked bout..is a classic symptom of kundalini energy awakening..and da bad effects u xperinced happen when it is nt properly channelised.. all dis may sound like absloute crap..bt its nt . google ‘kundalini’,read bout it on wikipedia…by far the best source of info i found is dis website: http://www.icrcanada.org/learn
read about gopi krishna. And please do all the above things for ur own gud.

why are people who are doing SK for a long time using words like stupid, idiot and phsyco?? Are you guys not supposed to be spiritually knowledgeable? and be more kind and gentle in communicating with people.

@uma .. well said … the way of communication by these guys(who practise S kriya) shows that it had made them less patient. They can not see two sides of the coin. Sudharshan Kriya has not made you optimistic … it has made you to refuse the/overlook the negative side(even if its harming you )

hi…though i m quite new at this kriya experience..i would say either you are not doing it right or you are depressed so much that even kriya could not help..please do not take offense..not judging you as i myself is depressed too but i also learned that if you are not able to take the breaths in the particular way which is told then..you might not get the best from it so please check with a teacher especially the uccais and pranayama positions..and have faith that even if you cannot do kriya still everything will be allright..

Problem is not with Sudarshan Kriya .. it is with how are you taking it. You have to use normal gentle breath. I met many people who are trying to put 300% oxygen in one breath.. keep normal gentle breath and see everything will be different and magical. For all others – stop criticizing if you are having a problem that is due to the fact that you are not doing it properly – talk to your AOL teacher. If they can’t able to solve it then talk to senior teacher. Remember lakhs or even crores of ppl are practicing it without difficulty.

Thanks for poting by Parthchoksi. I have also experienced lot of problems with sudarshan kriya. I have also tried with gentle breath as told by AOL teachers but of no use. After several practices my opinion is that this kriya has been designed wrongly. I also found many AOL teachers irritable and psychic in their approach to normal situations in life. During AOL course they look and talk very ideal things. I respect Ravishankarji for some of his good messages but my experience with Sudarshan kriya is very negative. anyway,he is doing good work by spreading message of love. but with so many complaints of sudarshan kriya he should stop propagating it further.

I have done basic AOL course. I felt good.
If you have found it unsuitable , you must stop it. One would feel the same way in all kinds of pranayams. In te conditions that you have explained , you would have such reactions after any kind of breathing excerises. Every body is different. May be pranayams are not for you. You must go for other mild excercises in that case.

Sk is nothing bt a patent content of aol which is Designed to make fool of dem who r suffering frm lack of attention, loneliness, lack of confidence as dey r easy targets. It make me so worried dat due to dis blind faith people putting there life and health on the edge. Shri shri is a hardcore capitalist. Hatsoff to aol’s excellent maketing strategy

One of my frnd is suffering from over conciousness, hyper tention, migraine, insomnia, body ache as she is constantly doing sk since long n she is still not ready to accept the fact that dis is affecting her health so badly, it seriously make me feel bad and helpless. It’s very inhuman, how can dey sale dis crap by the name of spirituality. N the most idiotic thing I noticed in most of the aol followers they cn argue on baseless facts, I Dnt Knw what these teachers feed in there brain which make them so absent minded. Well, thank you so much guys for sharing your experiences I hope it will help me further.

i have done this SK for a week or 2 but i expericed all the above problems i will not say it is bad , but it is not for common people , i have grwon up in completly hindu culture family , this type of yoga are pure medidation , which keep a person away from all metrial bondage , slowly you will start to feel nutrual no happyness no sadness , as if ur brain is too tierd to be happy or sad . swami vivkeaknda and other great people followed this type of meditation , but for common people like us , its noot good

Many company like MNC Sr. person are involved in “Art of Living” & He is forcing to their team member.To do Art of Living all Courses as Basic Course, Advance Course & DSN course & they team member pay fees their own. Please stop this ASAP. I am agree above mentioned 3,4 & 6 they are behave like this.

Well even I have experienced the negative effects – not exactly due to the kriya but probably an already persistent condition which got aggravated by the kriya . All these magical stories of body healing , BP normalizing , Sugar within control , asthma cure , heart problems disappearing so on and so forth didnt happen to me at least. while I first did the kriya I got extremely scared and my whole body felt a feeling of numbness.. I have read in many hindu scriptures that if all these meditation techniques are not done under the able guidance of a guru , the whole brain could get affected as the kundalini force would be thrown into imbalance due to incorrect breathing.

. Since the experience was most traumatic , I left it after some time despite assurance from the AOL instructors to keep going. After that , I consulted a clinical psychiatrist and now after 2 years of medication ,extremely normal and living a fulfilling and contented life . I realize that in god’s creation all 5 fingers are not the same , so AOL practitioners prescribing the same technique to all may not be in fact correct as it could trigger a mentally afflicted patient if not guided properly. And I believe there is no point in forcing the body against its wishes. The idea of coaxing one to continue despite feeling miserable was not correct on the part of the instructor .i dont blame her but she had been instructed to teach this way,

Also I believe strongly in Prarabdha and Karma. If you are bound to suffer you will suffer , You cant act against nature by these so called quick fix techniques to heal all kinds of diseases,. The best is Karma Yoga …Do your duty and the results will take care of itself . let us not get carried away by the so called magic techniques and end up in misery.

Hi guys,
I learn SKY and would suggest anyone going thru depression etc. I was having terrible thoughts, on such a high frequency, i knew i will perish if something is not done, i think only people who have gone thru this mental turmoil can only understand.
Fortunately i knew how to do SKY, i decided to restart it with the feeling that guruji would bring me out of this. and as far as i remember i was out of those horrible thinking within four days.

The guys who think they are not getting benefit from SKY, i can only say, there are powers (power of lust, greed, anger…etc, i don’t know all of them, but have experienced some of them) and they are above you. As far as i’m concerned if you try to fight them, you will never be the winner, your ego would be in the way. but if you pray to have them subsided and wait those times to pass, they will certainly pass. sometimes you may feel puppet in the hands of some power higher than you, but it all comes and go. have faith on GOD, or someone who understand GOD better than you do.

man i feel ur really sick, u really need some help. pls visit some doctor and stop publishing such bullshit about good things in this world. As it is very few things are left in this world which really help and SRK is one of them so pls dont do false bad publicity and get some help.

What a crap u have published. i am practicing SK from last 12 years and i never felt any of these problem u mentioned above.. millions of people are benefiting from SK around the globe. i think u facing all this problem cause u might learn SK from some website or from uncertified teacher. learn it from a certified teacher and all ur problem will be solved..

mate, its not that these symptoms don’t occur to a SK doing person. i won’t exactly call them “harmful”. you need to realize that you are trying to take over your mind(or specifically – brain) which controls the breath and the body. On one side it mutates you, while on the other side the mind(which is not used to this) tries to resist. The point is that Sudarshan Kriya releases toxins in huge amounts throughout the body and if one don’t drink lots and lots of water(suggested amount is 6 ltrs) to pour it out, he definitely is going to suffer from it.
just putting in a simple way, One one hand you want your street clean, but on other hand what you do is storming the garbage to the street’s corners. At the end of the day, It’s still there. .Jai gurudev!

A type of controlled breathing with roots in traditional yoga shows promise in providing relief for depressio
The program, called Sudarshan Kriya yoga (SKY), involves several types of cyclical breathing patterns,
ranging from slow and calming to rapid and stimulating, and is taught by the nonprofit Art of Living
Foundation.
One study compared 30 minutes of SKY breathing, done six days a week, to bilateral electroconvulsive
therapy and the tricyclic antidepressant imipramine in 45 people hospitalized for depression. After four
weeks of treatment, 93% of those receiving electroconvulsive therapy, 73% of those taking imipramine, a
67% of those using the breathing technique had achieved remission.
Another study examined the effects of SKY on depressive symptoms in 60 alcohol-dependent men. After
week of a standard detoxification program at a mental health center in Bangalore, India, participants wer
randomly assigned to two weeks of SKY or a standard alcoholism treatment control. After the full three
weeks, scores on a standard depression inventory dropped 75% in the SKY group, as compared with 60
in the standard treatment group. Levels of two stress hormones, cortisol and corticotropin, also dropped
the SKY group, but not in the control group. The authors suggest

Hi Arjun/NItin/ all AOL volunteers,
I was an AOL volunteer so I know what it feels like when you are in it pretty much 24×7 but guys wake up!!!! HH Sri Sri tells us that for every positive, there is a negative too.. (thumb rule remember???) So, there are advantages and disadvantages of Sudarshan Kriya as well!!!
It is good that you are sooooo enthu about the whole experience but that doesnt mean that you RUN DOWN ANYONE ELSE’S VIEWS. HH Sri Sri himslef says ‘accept everyone as they are (Jai gurudev, remember?????)

i had a terrible experience while I was in AOL. not because of the Kriya but because of the hypocrisy I saw around me. People who advocated caring and acceptance of others were b****ing about their own so-called friends behind their backs!!!!

I havent done the Kriya in more than 3 years and honestly, I dont feel a difference. I cherish the experience (the good parts mostly :)) when i volunteered but one thing I learnt was NOT to IMPOSE my views on others, especially my friends. I was lucky not to have lost them. Hope you guys dont make the same mistake.

hey parth Pratiksha here. . just few dayz bck i did d AOL course nd i was expressing all d symptoms similar to u.. though my situation has became a bit better now bt thn too .. evn tody i feel less intersted in life.. feeling less.. aas if i dnt love myself.. yep nd negative thoughts come easily in my mind.. nd m nd able tp feel hunger nd all plz can you help me out how to get normal .. i wnt to become normal as soon as possible i hav stopped doing all the kriyas.. plz help me dear.. :'( i evn contactd aol teacher bt he just said.. continue u wil b normal soon .. plz guide me dear.. i need ur help..

Hi Pratiksha. Cardio and exercise will greatly improve body and mind. it will also help you gain the appetite and also become more active in life. Exercise is not only good for body but also mind as it improves brain functions and also lifts the mood.

ok thnks Parth.. I wil surely follow wt u said .. i want to get back normal as soon as possible.. and really yaar i hav became lot of negative mindset.. sumtyms m really scared of all dis.. hope will become normal soon .. yep and it feels good to hear dat there is nothn wrong wid me .. i mean after readin all ur post.. .. will practise wt u said and let u know d difference newz thnks a lot dear .. 🙂

Jai Gurudev,
I started SK just few days back. Very impressed Im. I told my wife about it and she too joined AOL. And there was dramatic change in the family. Now, things are different, much better. Only one regret is there after doing the basic course……
WHY I DIDN’T DO IT BEFOR?

Hi, I do not believe in hateful words or harsh comments but will just say this:
I am sorry for you having formed such opinions of Sudarshan Kriya but t your experience is part of the detoxification process that occurs. I have been through the same phase and stuck long enough for the positive benefits to emerge.

It is not only a physical detox but also a mental vent to the suppressed negative energies we have been holding within. Since you left it mid-way, you never got to the point of experiencing the benefits.

As a fellow being, I request you to take it up with faith, under the guidance of a certified teacher and request you to not give up this time.

Rounak or the other guy who mentioned ill effects after doing kriya, friends I can only pity you, there are millions accross 82 countries from past 25 years doing kriya and believe this to be a blessing in disguise and are leading a stress free life. May be its karmic, Jago friends jago, you might need few life times to be where others are, nothing just relax and wait for your experiences or just do it rightly. 2 individuals v/s 34 crore people from 82 countries. who could be right.

I am practicing Sudarshan Kriya from last many years, It is working wonders for me.
I feel energized and enthusiastic. My productivity has increased and I can see myself far ahead from my peers, may it be health, or intelligence or presence of mind.

I started practicing it after suggestion of my friend. I had rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and could not sit in Vajrason during the course but then after few weeks of practicing SK, I found improvements in joint pain and now I can sit comfortably in Vajrasen. My doctor was also very surprised by seeing improvements and has started suggesting AOL course to his other patients. I am fully cured from RA now.

I was also suffering with Migraine that too has now gone very mild. I am an s/w professional and having a profile that can cause lots of stress but SK helps me as a stress buster. I even have stopped taking medicine for normal cold and cough. SK even helps in recovering from that as well. Many doctors are also practicing it regularly.

I am really sad to know that many of you did not have good experience with SK however I would suggest that please talk to your AOL teacher and get it corrected if you are not doing it properly. It is really bliss to have such a technique around us.

I know many people who are practicing SK regularly and getting benefitted.

Dear Parth Choksi, I am happy that you have done lots of analysis on it and structured your experience in systematic way. It is always good to know +ive and -ive of a process however done correctly. If you get a chance to meet Sri Sri just go and meet him once, he is very humble and listens to everyone. He will certainly help you to come out of the negative syndromes you had after SK.

I did the course about 20 years back in Baroda and practiced the same for some time and stopped it. I did the course again at Lagos about 2 years back and since then continue to pratice ,though not daily , at least 2-3 times a week . My experience with SK is good – actually it calms my mind and improves my energy levels . It also improved my concentration .

i want to ask that if i do sudharshan kriya daily and if i not do it regulary can i will face some promblem in my daily life and can i had an effect on my intellectual ability plz reply fast and give me suggestion.

i would like to share only 1 thing..if it’s so harmful..why is it so popular n why millions of population are following it…yogas n mediation have good effects n it’s evident to all of us..pls dont discourage others by your personal experience..m a doctor myself n have felt the difference..those who have experinced harmful effects pls go n see a doctor..or consult the art of living gurus…
jai gurudev

Ok, I have been doing this Kriya since may2009 and I am still the same person same health condition(good as before)…I did it blindly by knowing it brings better health marketed by AOL…I honestly think it won’t affect me if I stop doing it and I still will b same person in every sense….reading all above responses I feel nervous about doing Kriya since people hav suffered badly with side effects….I don’t think one needs Kriya to do good things in life or to be successful in life….I noticed many people start AOL course when they are in troubled or sad situation in their lives and often forced by some AOL believer….I was struggling during recession and was forced by my fruend to do basic course…and the way i felt as if i am going to rehab and as if i am depressed and they are cheering me up….i was never depressed in my life and was always fighting with the situation to make things better….on other hand i was been told by AOL that things will fall in places once i start doing kriya regularly….created false belief and since i paid high price for course $250(i dont knw why its way cheaper in india gir the same) i felt like lets try….and let me tell u one thing since past few yrs i had gone through lot of unfavourable situation and for which Kriya was never a solition…so if anyone from AOL suggests u tht things will b better in your life by diing kriya then please dont buy it….(EVERY THING IS IN YOUR MIND JUST CONTROL YOUR MIND AND MAKE DECISIONS WHICH WILL GIV YOU BETTER ACTION) have nothing against guruji or anyone in AOL…but many things are not just write I feel….I paid $250 when I was struggling financially…it was a time every penny was important for my living….I don’t understand why this Kriya is top secret and why it’s high priced….if you really think this can help mankind to get better why it’s not FREE if I are AOL teacher I know ur answer so don’t even give me tht…not gonna buy…ramdev baba offers free yoga( not his supporter or marketer)….I think this blog is an eye opener…I wil stop doing Kriya I guess and I don’t think I need it….I am very strong willed, logical and I believe in myself, and practical in life and always do things positively with my best efforts…I am happy with what I am…if lord is my witness I am sure I will end up in good hands. have a good day!

Thank you Parth for the extremely informative original post, especially the embedded video “Hyperventilation: Breathing Effects on Brain Oxygen and Health.” I have started doing heavy breathing as part of a kundalini class and have a limited interest in intentional hyperventilation. To be considered are the physical responses to blood gas levels that can be seen with diagnostic imaging, and varying capacities of individual bodies. As a healthcare provider I understand the sensations that hyperventilation generates as the body’s way of alerting of an imbalance.
Folks who become insulting or defensive when asked honest, respectful questions may just not be too far along a path of enlightenment — what are they afraid of? If there is a special technique to not hyperventilating when breathing heavier than the body requires, what would be the value of withholding that? Be wary of anyone who suggests you check your brain at the door!
To his credit, when I expressed my concern about hyperventilation to my kundalini class teacher, he simply encouraged me to not do something I was not comfortable with, which follows my understanding of ahimsa. During the heavy breathing exercises, I choose to focus on executing deep, complete, energetic breaths and releasing body tension while maintaining a breath rate that feels healthy to me, i.e., doesn’t make me feel light-headed.

Hello,
I have just started Basic course today morning and reading it in noon.
Reading the views here feeling a kind of fear in continuing this course and SK,as I regularly takes medicine of High BP et.

Thank you for advice,although we did not went for 2nd day of the course.
Actually I also joined this course around 15 year back and then I did it for few days but left it that time too.
Any way I appreciate your research and recommendations.

If you care about your health and life, immediately stop doing SK or any other hyperventilation techniques. Overbreathing is the root cause of the majority of modern diseases and SK aggravates the symptoms and may actually catalyze new diseases. See http://www.normalbreathing.com/

Basic problem with overbreathing during SK: it deprives the body of carbon dioxide and thereby constricts blood vessels all over the body including the brain which is extremely dangerous in some conditions.

People who regularly practise SK slowly suffocate and destroy their brain cells (among many other cells) due to chronic lack of oxygenization of brain tissues.

Thanks for the above discussions….finally I found something which I could relate to. I did 1st part of the course and hoped to make this a part of my routine in addition walking and warm up exercises. Unfortunately results were strange. Whenever I did these exersises, the whole day I feel dull, irritated and without any motivation. On the contrary if I follow just my old routine of walking and light exersises, I feel energetic throughout the day.

Having said that, it’s good if some people get benefits from such breathing techniques. Like there are differences in opinion so there can be differences in results.

Just want to add one more thing. During the course my teacher told me that negative enery gets released. When I asked how do you ensure only negative enery gets released and not positive. He had no answer, said something’s you experience and rest you will have to believe….

If any impairment has happened it has obviously affected your prefrontal cortex.

Many graduates of SKY are well known researchers, scientists and journalists who have shown no neural or cognitive detriment as of yet. Have you ever considered that your lack of focus could be just due to your inability to manage your life and time? Many a normal individual would define that as average procrastination.

I’m guessing you probably thought it was the magical key to solving all your problems.

Nevertheless, it is not to say that your experience might not be from some causal relationship. It is a possibility though not highly likely. I was never one for marketing tricks, so if you fell for the SKY is good for overall health then you weren’t even using your brain then. Simply put the health bit is meant as a washover, spillover effect from having relaxed mind.

Please, keep in mind you should not blame instances and lethargy one factor. Also acknowledge that lethargy and other symptoms of tiredness could be attributed to an unhealthy lifestyle, lack of nutrition and sleep.

As hyperventilation, why don’t you download a few scientific papers online and assess what it really is before you quote some 3rd hand unreliable resource.

Sudarshan kriya is not hyperventilation, sk is a kundalini awakening technique…I m a practioner of sudarshan kriya since past 7 years ,..I started @18 discontinued in between…. the person with blog has discontinued practicing SK bcoz of fear and excessive doubt cultivated from outside(material world) 2wards sri sri and his teachings…..i went through your situation but never gave up my devotion towards god and guru(bcoz its written in vedas that guru does not lose anything if u start doubting him, its u who loses this eternal path)… ….your immune system should be absolutely strong if u do it 4 a longer period of time…. nervous system(mento emotional energy) goes through lot of changes after practising yogic practices along with bhakti (satsang) and (selfless service)……..and if your immune system is not strong, ur health will be in disorder, …take ayurvedic medicines and panchkarma for getting rid of disorder u have stated….. please read vedas upanishads esp yogasutra and many others which describe in detail guru-disciple relationship and many more…nobody can decide 4 your life except youself…this is a precious gift from ‘ur self’ dont throw it away like use and throw material….I even know this comment wont work on you bcoz this material world and its influences r so strong u have no idea

Hello every one iam naresh who did basic course of long sudarshan kriya and continued for doing 1 year after i left that course because busy life when i stopped for just 15 days it is ruined my brain and addicted in doing so then i do for 4-5 days after it is peace full for 7 days then again iam very stressful with severe head pain then again i did it for4-5 days then it is peace for 7 days plz any body help me how to escape from this long sudarshan kriya…..

Hi,
I am also experiencing side effects of SK. For the first day it was very good feeling. Did continously for 2 weeks. And i stopped it for 1 week due to cold. But after that i started experiencing side effects. Now my anxeity has increased a lot. My mouth area is feeling very hard some times. Now i am into lot of health issues. Does anybody found a way for side effects?

I have done the SK even after reading all the negatives and positive outcomes shared in posts. Doing it regularly for last two weeks and found extremely helping in coming out of anxiety. have also done in lie down condition and without any other yogas..I am getting stress free life other may call it careless attitude but anyways feeling good. God bless all

Nice that you have gone vocal about it. But do remember, there is no one pill that cures all diseases. At the core of it, sudarshan kriya is a breathing exercise. It helps most people relieve stress. But it does not mean it will have same effect on everyone.
Body dispositions could cause problems with things like this. If it does not work for you, you should stop doing it and try something else. That said, it has a huge following which would mean that many people find it beneficial. I do it often and find enhanced focus and energy. I am yet to actually meet someone in person who has had problems with it.
In the end, you are the best judge of what’s good for you.
All the best,
Vikrant

Even i am facing many problems after doing this AOL course. Its just a stupid thing. These days am getting much more sleep that too whole day.So Parth what did you do to overcome these problems. Can anybody sujjest me.

Hi
I am a follower of aol
I am in aol for last 1 yr now and my parents are not in its favour. I was goin for another course and my parents strongly disallowed me. Then I started searching negatives of aol and I actualy realized that I did not look up for any science behind al this. I was in an emotionaly bad condition when I joined and never got to study aol. Just felt proud and blessed that now I also have a guru. I made my life based on sewa sadna and satsang. I found a different goal of life and I was happy. And its not that I am not materialistic. Passion disspassion as guruji says are going together. All was goin well. But after studying on google I feel it is more or less a business of sri sri (my guru my father) :'(
Even I realized that no scienc or study is there and I jst followed it n I was befooled.

Today wen I have completely transformed my life. Aol transformed the life all for gud (hopefully)
Now I logicaly think and think that I should leave it.
But I am feeling so bad
All my answers I got in this knowldg
Where wud I go now?

I joined AOL a week back. I am feeling lightness in the backside of my head. I had lot of pain in my legs..a cramp sort of thing while doing the SK. The teacher told that it is perfectly normal so I went on doing it. After reading the blogs, I feel that in long run SK will become part of the body-mind balace and would be impossible to leave it in between without having severe side effects.

Pls guide. Moreover the teacher seema to be Parrot who are in great love with Guru jee.

Onething is for sure, SK is not for everyone. Stop preaching like it is solution for all problems. Donot go for advance course it you are facing the problem thinking that it takeaway the bad feeling.
Regarda
Rock

I had similar problems. However, if you are not physically active it is that state that causes harm. What it means is basically one has to have energy has to be flowing efficiently through every channel of the body. One has to be physically strong to sustain the breathing excercises and meditation and the relaxation it creates. I had similar experience when I did SRCM or raja yoga. After 10 years of leaving I had to start it again but in a different way. The way I chose this time, although self thought, was doing 8 limbs of pathanjali yoga. Amazing results, I had presence of mind, quickness in solving problems, ignoring the other emotions. Truly phenomenal results. I wouldn’t get angry, I always was pursuing things and getting results and got multiple promotions and was put on a fast track at work. I wasn’t even thinking about the outcomes of any activity I was doing. I would just go and do it. Now I do breathing exercises and physical activity, because I have family and I have responsibilities and I have to provide for family and extended family. I still go into anger sometimes and also not paying attention whenever I do yoga, that is the best part as I am in a bliss ful state. If you just want focus and not Nirgunathvam or Satchitha anandam ever happyness or Samadhi state, do just Dharana excercises it helps in keeping you more focused and also gives you nirgunathvam. To all practitioners if you want complete results, please do 8 limbs of Patanjali’s Astanga. All those who experienced what has been written this article will realize the results. Also please educate yourself on Purusha and Prakriti or Gods and Godesses or Advaitha. Read a lot and gain vignan on what it means in terms of human body. I would also recommend reading on Tatva vignan.

Heyy why are u misguiding people?
You must have done sudarshan kriya in a wrong way which landed u in trouble …i am doing sudarshan kriya regularly since 2 years and it has really helped me to the core..yes kapalbhati did worsened my state of mind..kapalbhati made me go angry over small thing..but sudarshan kriya just doesn’t do any bad to us !!!

I did not real all the comments but to do pranayma without cleaning pathways for prana so that the prana can flow freely is dangerous , one should never start with anulom vilom or kapalbhati before one has done basic pranayama to open the pathways. It seems that some people don’t have any problem following this procedure described here ,but some do have problems and i wonder if its not due to the people having more clogged pranic pathways.

See it as your kitchen sink if its clogged and you open the water tap fully the water will not go down and you will have water running over. The more clogged the more problem while a little clogged sink will still be able to use the tap on full speed without running over but it will be close to run over.

First 1-2 weeks one should start slowly by inhaling from one nostril to the other and repeat, in the morning breath in through the right nostril and out through the left nostril and repeat, if its evening start from the left and finish with the right , do this for 1-2 weeks 2 times daily for at least 5 minutes then you can anulom vilom for a week and then slowly introduce breath retention. By doing this you will probably be fine. But if you start with breath retention without opening the pranic pathways first you will probably have problems.

Just like in school some already learned the alphabet they can not skip the alphabet because they know it , likewise everyone starting with pranayama should follow the basic steps to open the pathways first even if their pathways are more open than others.

Whatever the technique, it has to be learnt from a good teacher who has knowledge about its applications to various body and mind permutations. One cannot suggest the same technique to all, there has to be changes in accordance with the individuals who wants to take it, hence it is said that a True Guru is impossibility in todays world and who ever are experimenting with their spirituality, are on their own.

Hello everybody. I have practiced SCK and have noticed both positive and negative results. Most of the negative results(disorganized thoughts,uneasiness)were reflective of how imperfectly I had practiced the technique.When done with a focused mind it helped remove physical blockages that caused a lot of pressure I was previously unaware of. Negative effects from my experience were due to my lack of presence and focus while doing this pranayam. Furthermore,the movement of prana through the body can be irritating until it finally breaks a blockage,then the release is ecstatic. Let the prana do it’s thing.

When I was 13 I took art of living classes to help me cope with stress at school and it opened up my third eye and really screwed me up. I had so many negative reactions – visions, low blood pressure, tingles, anxiety, depression that I eventually had a nervous breakdown and ended up in hospital.

It has taken me years to recover.

Anyway it’s amazing that art of livingis wrapped in all this good publicity and no one talks about the dangers of the practice. Especially for untrained beginners.

I suffered from severe psychic trauma as a result.

Anyway thank you for so bravely sharing truth. I do not believe the practices are bad but maybe they were meant for more advanced yogis with more training and practice behind them.

No intelligent person can deny the correlation between SK and hyperventilation. I did the SK and it was probably the worst experience of my life, similar to a panic attack I had many years ago. Instead of finding happiness I found I was very unhappy, irritable and tired. Heart palpitations were crazy and a general feeling of illness. I dropped out of the AOL course and decided to do some research about this SK practise. Turns out a lot of people have bad experiences. All the positive reviews are either on AOL website or bogus research papers. I am sure there are not many real doctors who will encourage hyperventilation to “heal” yourself.

We should learn to listen ourselves. Not what others experience it is their own truth. What is for some elixir is poison for another. I am sure if some does attend AOL basic or any course it is important to finish it. Such Yoga courses are meant for intense purification which is not party so it is not always nice, specially for those with much stress in body/mind. And we dont know what we have in subconscious mind, and practices like those work deep. And after finish course and do practice 40 days and properly, gently no violent breathing and be aware, its not enough to just practice without awareness we will damage ourselves, to be conscious witness is extremly important only then we will do practices right, you are unique so being aware helps you tremendously to find out what is good for you and not what others tell you. Something might be good for whole group but not for you, so discover your nature what is Your and only Your guidance that is much much more important than doing some practices. Any Spiritual Practices~Sadhanas are there only to help you discover your True essence your Divine Self which is pure Bliss,Energy,Truth ~ Satchittanand. Once you discover or realise your Self you need nothing else, Sadhanas are important and precious indeed but still only tools for self discovery, you are the essence, so enlightened one does not need sadhana any more. So awareness will get you on right path, first know yourself then all will happen right. Also Guru might see if he is enlightened what is good path for you but then you have to trust him 100%. And if you cannot trust Guru then only with awereness will you find yourself. First know yourself then you will know about proper sadhana for you easily. Om Shanti

Lol you have issues inside your body nothing is wrong with sudarshan kriya its just combination of several Pranayam which are individually practiced by many.Its just that you wanted it to fail so be happy with it failed you win but still you lost a alot.

I Pity all who have stopped the Sudarshan Kriya practice due to this blog. I also stopped for a year due to negative comments from people like the ones above. But then in 2013, I took a simple responsible step of going to the source, the bangalore Art of Living ashram. What I saw was amazing, huge crowds of happiest people on earth. I observed that I wasn’t following the prescribed practices and started doing something very different that is causing the problems. The honour, respect and faith with which I used to practice was lost due to the cloud of doubts created by people like you. I humbly requested one of the Swami ji, who is fully glowing due to years of practise to correct my practise. He did it happily. And to my amazement, the first sitting itself took me into deep meditation. Realized How simple and effective it is… I continued it since then, everyday going deeper and deeper. I have become cheerful, confident and healthy again. Last few years, I have been experiencing greater heights, the essence of Gurudevs teachings is becoming real experience for me. I regret stopping once reading your opinions in these blogs. I wish this blog is removed to help everyone get the best out of the gifts Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ji has given to this world… IT IS SO PRECIOUS

I think before coming to a conclusion it is very important to first identify if you’re doing Sudharshan Kriya the right way. I was told during my classes that the feeling of “not wanting to do anything” after kriya does happen sometimes and we were advised to turn to our right side (if you have noticed, you breath out through one nostril) before waking up from Kriya so that you start breathing out through the right nostril and that would help this feeling. And also, you should definitely rest at least for five minutes after Kriya. if you were not doing this, you might feel irritated because you are not giving your body and mind the time to recover.